In his first comments since the outbreak of tension in Beirut Thursday that killed six people, Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah Monday accused the Lebanese Forces, the most prominent Christian group in Lebanon, of dragging Lebanon into a civil war. 

Nasrallah, whose party is the most prominent military and political force in Lebanon and is leading a campaign calling for the dismissal of the investigative judge in the port explosion, Tariq Al-Bitar, said that Hezbollah has 100,000 Lebanese fighters "trained, organized, structured and armed," explaining that he mentions this number for the first time "to prevent war, not to threaten." 

As soon as he announced the number, party supporters fired shots in glee in the southern suburbs of Beirut, the party's most prominent stronghold.

He directed many statements to Lebanese Forces president Samir Geagea, who often criticizes Hezbollah, and its involvement in regional conflicts, especially in neighboring Syria, where it has been fighting openly since 2013 in support of President Bashar al-Assad's forces. 

Nasrallah's statements came days after six members of Hezbollah and ally Amal were killed while protesting against Judge Al-Bitar's performance in the Beirut Port blast case. Hezbollah and Amal accuse Bitar of politicizing the case. 

Another woman was killed Thursday after being shot in the head in her house. Another 32 were injured. 

The exact circumstances of the shootings are not yet clear. 

This escalation threatens to plunge the country into a new political crisis more than a month after the formation of a government that is supposed to focus its work on developing a plan to get the country out of the cycle of economic collapse.

Hezbollah and the Amal Movement refuse to allow the government to hold any session unless it is dedicated to deciding the issue of al-Bitar, who they want dismissed. 

Since his allegations against former Prime Minister Hassan Diab and former deputies and ministers, including two representatives of the Amal Movement, and security officials, many fear that political pressure will lead to the removal of Al-Bitar, similar to his predecessor Fadi Sawan, who was removed in February after his allegations against political officials.

Relatives of the victims constantly demonstrate in support of Bitar and denounce political interference and the defendants' refusal to appear before him for interrogation.

Since the explosion, the authorities have rejected an international investigation, while human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, denounce the attempts of political leaders to obstruct the investigations, and demand the establishment of an independent and impartial international investigation mission.